Dorothy Lawrence, or Denis Smith as she was known to her troops, traveled to the front lines and worked as a sapper with a mine-laying company. After 10 days of laying mines in the field, she fell ill and confessed to a commanding officer, because she was afraid she would be found out. She was promptly arrested as a spy.
Because the military was afraid other women would try to imitate what she did, Lawrence was forced to sign an affidavit that she would not write about her experiences, but she later published her story in full many years later.